In a first ever move, Google is now carrying ads from someone else’s ad network — Twitter’s, as Google integrates Twitter’s new Promoted Tweets into Google Realtime Search.

It’s quite a coup for Twitter. Not only did the company get Google to pay it for its data last year ($15 million, it’s rumored), something relatively few publishers have done, but Twitter’s earning in a second way from the ads that are now appearing.

Promoted Tweets: Twitter’s AdWords

Promoted Tweets are a way that advertisers can make their tweets show above all others on Twitter itself, when someone searches there. In some ways, it’s Twitter’s form of Google AdWords. Now, when people do searches on Google and go into Google’s real time search results area, Promoted Tweets will show there above other results. The screenshot above shows this happening in a search on “verizon.”

Not In “Regular” Google

It’s very important to understand that Promoted Tweets will NOT show within regular Google search, which sometimes integrates real time matches along with web search listings and other matches. They’ll only appear when someone drills-down into the real time results after doing a regular search at Google, or if they conduct a search from the still relatively new Google Realtime Search home page.

Also don’t confuse this with yesterday’s news, where Twitter announced that “in stream” promoted tweets would begin first with partner HootSuite. This is where Promoted Tweets show within a user’s “timeline” or stream of tweets that they monitor, rather than in response to a search. Google shows Promoted Tweets only in response to a search.

Google Gets Someone Else’s Ads

Earlier, I’d said this was the first time that ads from other networks have appeared on Google (other ad networks, of course, have channeled ads onto Google, but they’ve been routed through Google’s own AdWords system). That’s official, by the way. I double-checked with Google about it. I was also sent this statement:

Twitter is pioneering advertising against short-form content, so it was a natural starting place for us. We’re certainly open to continue exploring other advertising models and systems, including those we might develop in-house.

Google confirmed there’s a revenue split. Twitter confirmed the split is 50/50, as it had previously said partners would get.

Rolling Out Today Through Tomorrow

Don’t see the Promoted Tweets yet on Google yourself? Google says they’re rolling out throughout today but should be live for everyone by tomorrow.

• For related news on this topic from others, see Techmeme. Also be sure to see these articles for more background about Google Realtime Search and Twitter Promoted Tweets:
• Google Realtime Search Gets Home Page, Conversation View, Alerts & Geosearch
• The Twitter Search Revolution: Popular & Promoted Tweets Mature The Service

Related Topics: Features: Analysis | Google: AdWords | Top News | Twitter | Twitter: Advertising | Twitter: Business Issues

About The Author: Danny Sullivan is editor-in-chief of Search Engine Land. He’s a widely cited authority on search engines and search marketing issues who has covered the space since 1996. Danny also oversees Search Engine Land’s SMX: Search Marketing Expo conference series. He maintains a personal blog called Daggle (and maintains his disclosures page there). He can be found on Facebook, Google + and microblogs on Twitter as @dannysullivan. See more articles by Danny Sullivan

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